CERTIFICATE COHORTS FOR NETWORKS

Lead your own cohort using Fuller’s Professional Certificate

What if a resource existed for church planting networks and denominations to holistically train their planters using a year-long cohort that combines curated content with a rich community of support and accountability?

Welcome to Fuller’s Church Planting Professional Certificate Cohort - six interactive online courses with 12 monthly gatherings that you lead within your own church planting organization.

You can learn more about the certificate program you'll be leading here:

Professional Church Planting Certificate

“The Church Planting Certificate from Fuller gives the church planters we work with exactly what they need. Beginning with a rich missional theology, and paying attention to the vital work of personal spiritual formation, it equips them to build an empowered team and to deeply engage their contexts with the good news of Jesus. It’s also got a really beautiful, intuitive interface.”

- Chris Swann, Church Planting Director, City to City Australia

About the Cohort Experience

We train you to lead a cohort of planters in your tribe who journey together using monthly video calls and weekly online interaction to deepen their theology, formation, and mission to reach a post-Christian, culturally diverse world.

Courses you'll lead include exercises to help planters reflect individually, relate to their team, and practice mission in their city. After each course, planters submit a workbook that receives written feedback from a Fuller expert. The final project is writing or revising a comprehensive church planting plan.

The Professional Certificate Cohort Bundle Includes:

10% discount on a bundle of 10 or more Professional Certificates (normally $950)

Three training sessions with our Church Planting Director on how to lead your cohort

Documentation and digital tools for leading successful, online cohorts for your network

church planters trained by network City to City

“The Fuller Certificate cohort has been a rich and massively encouraging season of learning and fellowship. The regular content has been specifically tailored to help planters think about how to best reach our contexts, how to maximize our giftings, and how to form disciples and communities who go on to make more disciples.”

- Jon & Blessy Tran trained by City to City Australia

Learn More About the Cohort You'll Lead

Professional Church Planting Certificate

FAQs for Network Cohort Leaders

Fuller is the world’s largest multi-denominational seminary. We have students and alumni from over 110 denominations serving in more than 130 countries. We are passionate about church planting. PlanterMatch is one of the ways we co-labor with networks, coaches and the wider body of Christ in starting many new churches around the world.

Fuller also trains church planters through our publications, formal Masters and academic certificate programs, as well as our Professional Certificate program. Our programs are entirely online, allowing church planters to learn while remaining in their current ministry context. We also come alongside networks - like you - and denominations in developing their own training resources and leading their own learning cohorts.

Cohort FAQs

Who leads the cohort?

Ideally, the cohort is led by a staff member in your church planting organization so that the cohort members build a stronger relationship with that staff person and learn more of your organization’s DNA. Fuller provides three individual sessions to train the staff member in the content and facilitation of the cohort, as well as a suggested “lesson plan” for how to structure and lead each of the monthly cohort calls.

How does the cohort meet and for how long?

If it’s possible to meet in person, we recommend that. Otherwise, the cohort meets by Zoom or videoconference for 75-90 minutes.

How often does the cohort meet?

The cohort meets monthly but if the planters can meet more frequently, we think that creates a stronger learning community and strengthens their church plants. Another scenario is having the planters meet monthly and then inviting their launch team members to participate together in separate calls for mutual learning.

How are the workbooks used?

Each of the courses has three types of exercises (reflect, relate, and practice), and planters response to each exercise by filling out a Google Doc workbook. When they’ve completed each workbook, they send it to Fuller and we provide written feedback that both affirms the planter and challenges them to grow.

What is the final project?

Each of the six workbooks helps complete part of the planter’s church planting plan. Then the final workbook is integrating the prior workbooks into a final plan that can be shared with leaders or donors.

How does a planter receive the Certificate?

If a planter satisfactorily completes all six workbooks and the final project, they will receive a digital Certificate of Completion. If they would like to pursue a Masters degree at Fuller, the Certificate counts as credit for one Masters level course at Fuller.

Certificate FAQs

Who is the Certificate for?

The Certificate is for church planters who have discerned God's call in community and are within a year of launching or have launched within the last two years.

What is the format?

The cohort consists of seven digital courses that can be taken on a smartphone, tablet, or computer six Google Doc workbooks and a final church planting plan.

How long does the cohort take?

We recommend the cohort meets for one year so that they can put the various exercises into practice with their team and in their community.

How much time does it take?

On average it takes about two hours per week over the course of a year, or about 100 total hours. The 100 hours includes going through the online course content, participating in the monthly cohort calls, completing the workbooks, and writing the final project, which is a church planting plan.

For more information regarding any of the above, please email churchplanting@fuller.edu.